I wonder if my trench-coat wearing co-worker is gonna go all Columbine one of these days. He seems the type. Never talks to anyone, listens to music about death and tragedy, spends most of his life alone watching TV or playing video games. He's just weird.

Can you believe Petter Solberg's luck? Or lack thereof? Well, you probably can't since I doubt you've even heard of the guy. He's a Norwegian that races in the WRC. He was world champ a couple years ago, but since then has been plagued with bad luck. Mostly technical issues. Wish Subaru would get their shit together so he'll have a fair chance again.

FYI, I need to take a leak, so that's what I'm gonna go do right now. TTFN.

I decided to ignore the wet weather last night and try out the 4-wheeler after all. It works! Thrashed it around a bit, and the drive shafts are still in one piece. The 4x4 even works. Gotta wait for some snow now (well, more than what's currently on the ground) to put the 4x4 to the test.

It's raining. Outside, that is. Not a great day to be outside. Much better spent inside.

I finally fixed my 4-wheeler last night, and was contemplating trying it out tonight. I guess the weather will decide that for me. According to John at the axle place, the mfg got the cv joint coming apart problem fixed. I guess I will be the guinea pig. Much like I was with the first set they sent me.

Was it fun? Yep. Wasn't as much fun or exciting as I'd thought it would be, though. There was about 3 seconds of excitement just as I left the plane, and after that it was just cool. Well, until the canopy opened up. Got boring from there on, as all you do is hang there, slowly making your way towards the ground. Had a good view while floating around, though.

We jumped from 13,000 feet, and was in free fall for about 45 seconds.

If you want some tummy tingling excitement (even if it only lasts about 3 seconds), try skydiving.

Went for a walk with the dog a lunch today (as per usual). As I walk by a house down the road I hear "can you help me?". I look around and see the little old lady that lives there laying in the driveway. I quickly secure Turbo (my dog) to her mail box (which is across the street from her house, so he was safely out of the way) and run over to her. I ask her if she's hurt, and says she doesn't know. I ask her how long she's been there, and she says only for a little while. Anyway, I help her up on her feet and hold her up. She's really shaky and can't stand on her own. No broken bones or anything, though. I help her get her shoe back on, and then we decide to try to get to her house. She's quite a bit shorter than me, so it was a bit complicated, but we managed. We take a few steps at a time, then pause for a bit.. and so on and so on 'til we get to the house. She holds on to the railing on one side, and me on the other and we make it inside. At this point I noticed she had cut her eye brow, and had bled pretty bad. I had noticed some blood on her fingers earlier, but thought she'd just cut a finger. Anyway, once inside she starts to want to pay me money for my help.. I tell her she doesn't owe me anything. She says she'll be ok inside, so I leave her. I make her grab her phone first, though, in case she falls again. On the way back from the walk I stop in and check on her again.

Received news of a couple deaths today. One an extended family member, and one my neighbor from when I lived in Norway. Svein Gottenberg raced top-fuel drag bikes, and was killed in Denmark during a race.

I was asked "What are you scared of?" today. I don't think it was meant as a profound question, but it made me think..

What am I scared of? I thought about it for a while, and I couldn't come up with an answer.

Now, I'm not trying to sound like I'm fearless and a tough guy. I'm not. While I'm not scared of getting beat up and stuff like that, it's certainly something I'd rather do without. I was thinking more along the lines of non-violent things.

I have a slight fear of heights, but I'm going skydiving (still hoping to get it done this year.. I've got 3 weeks before they close), so it's not something that'll overcome me.

I think the one thing that I find the scariest is my own mind. It can make the safest of situations seems downright terrifying. But since I'm aware of this, I can also stop it from going too far. Which I think might be the reason I can't come up with something I'm scared of. I can think of a scenario that would seem scary, but then I think "well, what are the chances of that" or "I'm not dumb enough to put myself in that situation to begin with".

Yeah, I'm rambling and probably not making much sense, but hey, it's my prerogative. It's my blog after all!

Every now and then I come across someone posting a message on some internet site (as in a lot of them) that goes something like this:

"Blah, blah blah.. Blah blah.. (insert whatever nosensical statement that would pseudo apply to the topic of a web site here) But I've been drinking, so what do I know?"

Are their lives really that sad that they sit and drink in front of their computer? I just came across one on a dating site forum. Hello! I'm sure the ladies are very impressed with the guy for posting clueless messages in a drunken stupor. I've seen it quite a few times on car related sites too.

No skydiving this weekend. It rained Saturday, and I've been sick all weekend too. Woke up with a sore throat and runny nose Saturday morning. I've been sinus-draining all over the place all day today. Yummy, huh?

Got to watch some movies instead, though.

Crank
I like Jason Statham, and from the previews, it looked pretty cool. But overall, it was pretty dumb. Kinda like "Speed", but with a Chinese coctail instead of a bus. Almost a surprise ending, though.

The Thin Red Line
Wow. 2 hours and 44 minutes of utter boredom. I thought it sounded pretty cool 'cause I've never seen a WWII movie about Guadal Canal. Not that I can recall, at least. Mostly WWII movies are about the European theater, which admittedly, I am more interested in. But anyway, I digress. Basically tI found the movie way too long, and the lazy southern drawl of the main character (narrator) got to be annoying after a while. I think if they'd used a northern accent for the main character, the movie would have been half as long. Which would have been just about right.

Garden State
Zach Braff directs and stars in this movie that he also wrote. Now, I like Zach Braff. I got to know him through "Scrubs", which if you read my entry a few days ago, you'll know it's one of the TV shows I follow. I like his character (JD) in Scrubs. Very entertaining. Unfortunately, his character in this movie (Andrew Largeman) is nothing like the JD we know and love. The movie was suggested to me by someone I know. I don't know. I didn't dislike the movie. I didn't like it either. I think I felt pretty much like the Andrew character. Without feeling. I did dig his motorcycle, though. I'd love to have something like that bike. Basically, the movie starts out with a death in his immediate family. Then there's a long period where he deals with that and some other stuff, before he finally "wakes up" at the end of the movie. Mmmm-yeah.. It wasn't all that great.

Gonna stop by TSC to see what kind of tie-rod ends they have too. Need a couple for my 4-wheeler since I'm apparently to rough on it! Gonna see about beefing it up a bit while I'm at it to keep 'em from bending again. Maybe use some automotive ends, since they're a lot bigger and sturdier.

I'm in that kind of mood today. You know, the kind you're in when you feel like I do today.

Not sure what brought it on. It just appeared. As if brought on by nothing at all.

I wonder how many of the "christian" people are hypocrites? In my experience, the vast majority is. It's better when you don't (claim to) believe in anything. At least you're not going against your beliefs. Or maybe the beliefs you project to the world that you have. Some people are only christians on Sundays and holy days.

I'm at work. All I can think about is going home and wiring up a couple more outlets in my garage. Not sure why that is. I guess it'll be alone time. Time to think and reflect.

Some good news. The drive shafts for my 4-wheeler are apparently on their way to me. Only took them a few months to fix them right. Oh well, someone had to be the guinea pig. I suppose if they still haven't solved the problem, I'll be the one to find out.

The previous blog entry was lyrics to a Jack Johnson song, btw.

Do you ever find yourself thinking about the past? Things you let slip through your fingers? Things you wanted but couldn't have? Things you could have had, but didn't want at the time? Things you had but lost? I guess everybody does at some point. What's in the past is in the past, and we look towards the future. Right? Sometimes the past catches up with you, though, and you can't help but look back at it.

Melancholia is a mood of non-specific depression. It is characterised by low levels of enthusiasm and low levels of eagerness for activity. That's my mood. I think. Not sure if I'm really depressed or not, but I sure have little enthusiasm and low level of eagerness at this moment. What I need is something to be excited about. Something I can look forward to. Something I can look back at and be filled with a feeling of happiness.

I left my cooler at M's place when I went to that party a few months ago. He said he'd drop it off next time he was in the area. He still has my cooler. Hey, M, you reading this? Maybe I'll call him up and go pick it up. I can see his kid too at the same time.

Kid. That brought up a thought. I'm 31. Still don't have any kids. I don't want to be too old to play with my kid(s) when they grow up. I sometimes feel like I already am. Red's oldest buy is having a birthday party this Saturday. I'm invited, of course. I already got him something. It's not much, but it has thought behind it.

Do women ever simply come out and say what it is they want? I'm a firm believer in the fact that they don't. I guess some (flakes) just don't know what they want, but some do. Some definitely have an agenda. There's a song that goes something like "I know what I want from you. I hope you feel it too". That sums up most women. They know exactly what they want from a guy, but instead of communicating it, they dance around the subject in an attempt to make the guy figure out what is is they want. Hoping he'll somehow read their minds. Well, ladies and flakes, men don't take subtle hints. Not even obvious hints have any effect on us. If you want us to know something, there's really only one way to make that happen. Tell us!

Pesonally, I don't even try to figure out what women want. If they want it, whatever that may be, they're just going to have to bite the bullet and actually tell me. Sure, I can speculate about possible motives, but short of stumbling across a small person with a chest full of gold, there's really nothing that will let me know with any certainty which motive is the driving force behind her behavior.

I guess sometimes it's better to just tell someone what's on your mind and accept whatever consequences follow in the wake. Sure beats driving yourself crazy thinking "what if" for the rest of your life. Sure, it may not work out the way you wanted, but at least you tried it and you know for sure because of it.

Everyone laughed at her joke
As if they'd never even heard it before
And maybe they were truly amused
But every word that she spoke was a bore
And maybe it's because they had seen
The previews on the TV screen
Well this part is good and that's well understood
So you should laugh if you know what I mean

But it's all relative
Even if you don't understand
Well it's all understood
Especially when you don't understand
Then it's all just because
Even if we don't understand
Then lets all just believe

Everyone knows what went down
Because the news was spread all over town
And fact is only what you believe
And fact and fiction work as a team
It's almost always fiction in the end
That content begins to bend
When context is never the same

And it's all relative
Even if we don't understand
And it's all understood
Especially when we don't understand
Then it's all just because
Even if we don't understand
Then lets all just believe

I was reading a book
Or maybe it was a magazine
Suggestions on where to place faith
Suggestions on what to believe
But I read somewhere
That you've got to beware
You can't believe anything you read
But the good Book is good
And it's all understood
So don't even question
If you know what I mean

But it's all relative
Even if you don't understand
Well it's all understood
Especially when you don't understand
And it's all just because
Even if we don't understand
Then lets all just believe

But there you go once again
You missed the point and then you point
Your fingers at me
And say that I said not to believe
I believe
I guess
I guess it's all relative

Battle of The Bulge: Old movie with Henry Fonda, Telly Savales and some other "old school" actors. For those of you who have any interest in WWII, you'll know that this is a movie about the tank battle at "The Bulge". Sinec it's an old movie, it's also pretty "bad" by today's standards as far as special effects go, but hey, that's all they could do back then. The movie is like 2 hours and 45 minutes long (including intermission... yes, there's a few minutes long intermission in the middle of the movie), but it doesn't seem that long. At least not to me. I give it two thumbs up, if nothing else because it's a classic.

The Lake House: Ack. Do I have to talk about it? Started out decently enough, but went downhill pretty fast. It's a romance/drama movie, but the "sci-fi" aspect of it was a little too much, I think.

Stay Alive: "Malcolm in the middle" stars in this "horror" movie. It's about a bunch of nerds that sit around playing video games, when they start dying in the same manner as they died in the video game. As with any movie that has a computer as a major part of the plot, it's horribly overdone and so far out of touch with reality (speaking as someone who knows a thing or two about computers) that it's more laughable than scary. Thumbs straight down for this.

Dirty Pretty Things: British movie about two immigrants (one legal, one illegal) that live/work together. Sounds pretty lame, I know, but it really wasn't that bad. If you expect some Hollywood style movie, then this certainly isn't for you, as it is anything but. While the movie is british, it could just as well have been Nigerian if that tells you anything. Main characters are Nigerian and Turkish. Both speak broken english, as do most other characters in the movie. I think there's a total of 2 "clean english" speakers. I enjoyed the movie, though. 1 thumb up.

I made up for my lazyness last week this weekend. I put up some gutters on my house. Of course, in doing that, I came across some rotten wood, so I had to replace that too. Hopefully the gutters will keep that from happening again. I also put up a hose reel for my garden hose. As a grand finale, I put up some new shop lights in the garage. I've been needing more light in there for years, and now I finally have it! Yay! I tihnk there's a total of 8 of them in there now, but I think I need to add another one. Pictures of my handywork may, or may not, show up later.

Red came over this weekend too, and she'd said she wanted to help me finish painting my porch. Well, she started, but 5 minutes later the rain came pouring down. Of course, I still had to put up gutters, so I got to do that in the rain. Good thing about that was that I could see them working as I was putting them up.

Other than that, I guess it was a farily normal weekend. It'll be nice to go back to work tomorrow.